Western Bukidnon Manobo: “high sacrificer” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Tagbanwa as “Most-important Priest of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “Big leader of offerings” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
In Khoekhoe the translation for “high priest” is only capitalized when it refers to Jesus (as is Hebrews 2:17 et al.). (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 23:2:
Uma: “When Paulus spoke like that, the Big Priest Ananias commanded a person next to Paulus to slap him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then when Ananiyas, the leading priest heard what Paul said, immediately he commanded the men beside Paul to slap Paul on his mouth.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then the High Priest told the men that were nearby Paul that they should slap his mouth in order to punish him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Upon his saying that, the highest priest told those near Pablo to slap his mouth.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When the Most-important Priest who was Ananias heard, he ordered those standing beside him to slap Pablo on the mouth.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Ananias was High Priest from A.D. 47 to 66, when he was assassinated by the Jews because of his support of the Romans during the Jewish uprising. The reason that he ordered Paul to be slapped is not clear. It may be because he thought Paul was presumptuous by addressing the group as my brothers, or it may be that he felt it improper for a prisoner to maintain his innocence. It is interesting to recall that Jesus was also struck during his trial (John 18. 22-23).
The verb ordered may require direct discourse in some languages—for example, “the High Priest Ananias ordered those who were standing close to Paul, Strike him on the mouth.” In a number of languages one must distinguish carefully between striking with the hand closed or with an open hand, that is, “hit” versus “slap.” The Greek text itself makes no distinction and one can choose whichever form of striking would seem to be more appropriate within a parallel receptor context.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
At this: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At this is the conjunction often translated “and” or “but.” The action of the high priest in this verse is connected to what Paul said in 23:1. He was probably angry about what he said or that he spoke before being told to speak. Other ways to translate the Greek word are:
and (Revised Standard Version) -or-
then (Contemporary English Version) -or-
When/After Paul said that,
Ananias: If you provide historical information in footnotes, you may want to talk about Ananias in a footnote here. An example footnote is:
This Ananias was high priest from AD 47 to 59. Two other men are named Ananias in Acts. One is in chapter 5 and the other in chapters 9 and 22.
23:2b
to strike him on the mouth: The word strike can refer to slapping with an open hand or hitting with a closed fist. If possible, translate in a way that allows either meaning. If you must use only one, refer to hitting with a closed fist.
The verse does not say that anyone actually struck Paul, so you should not say that someone hit Paul in your translation.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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